Drinking fountain for poultry



l, 1931- H. w. PLEDGER 1,821,478

DRINKING FOUNTAIN FOR POULTRY F'iled May 18, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Il' l will Il grt/vanto@ Sept. 1,-1931. H. w. PLEDGER 1,821,478

DRINKING FOUNTAIN FOR POULTRY Filed May 18, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fr/y 7V. PZeLdye/g y dum Patented Sept. l, 1931 PATENT OFFICE HARRY WILLIAM PLEDGER, 0F OGDEN, UTAH DRINKING FOUNTAIN FOR POULTRY Application 1ed May 18,

- The present invention relates to improvements in drinking fountains and has refer ence more particularly to a fountain designed for use in supplying water for fowls.

One of the important objects of the present'invention is to provide a drinking fountain wherein means is provided for heating the drinking water in cold weather to pre Vent freezing of the same.

A further object is to provide a drinking fountain of the above-mentioned character wherein water is supplied from a. tank or reservoir to the drinking trough only as fast as required.

A further object is to provide a drinking Vfountain of the above-mentioned character wherein the parts are arranged in such a manner as to permit the same to be readily and easily assembled or disassembled for cleaning purposes whenever necessary.

vA still further and important object resides in the provision of a means for detachably supporting the heating unit carrying member in the lower end of the heating chamber.

Another object vis to provide a drinking fountain for poultry of the above-mentioned Acharacter which is simple in construction,

inexpensive, strong and durable and further wellgadapted for the purposes for which it is designed.

VOther objects and yadvantagesl of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters indicate correspending parts throughout the same:

Figure 1'y is a vertical sectional view through the poultry drinking fountain embodying my invention showing an electrical heating unit employed for heating the 1 water.

;Figure v2 is a horizontal section taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 y looking downwardly.

end v,of the cylindrical heating chamber or 1929. Serial No. 364,164.

flue and showing an oil lamp as constituting the heating unit for the Water.

Figure 4f is a fragmentary plan View of a further modification of the closure for the upper end of the heating chamber or fine. f.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view through the modified closure shown in Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a vertical section, on aI reduced scale, showing the fountain with the fine closures removed and with an air stack applied to the upper end of the flue, whereby circulation o'f air through the flue is had for cooling the water in warm weather'.

' In the drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown the preferred em-l bodiment of my invention, with reference more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the panshaped drinking trough from which the fowls obtain the water and this trough is" support-ed in spaced relation with respect to the ground through the medium of the supporting legs 2. The circular trough is formed with a central opening 3 as clearly shown in Figure 1, the purpose of which will be pres-v ently described.

A cylindrical water tank or reservoir 4 is secured in the bottom of the trough 1 and this' tankis of a diameter less than that of the trough. The tank or reservoir 4 is alsoifso formed with a central opening in the bottom thereof and the edge portion 5 around the opening formed in the bottom of the tank is disposed downwardly through the opening 3 formed in the bottom of the trough 1. The. tank is formed with a dome-shaped top 6 and is also provided with a central opening for a purpose to be presently described.'

A filling neck 7 extends upwardly from the dome-shaped top 6 adjacent the perimeter',- thereof and a removable cap 8 provides a closure for the upper end of the filling neck 7. A tank may be filled with water by removing the cap from the filling neck 7 The tank lis formed in its side adjacent the bottom thereof with a discharge opening in which is fitted the valve 9 forregulating the flow of the water from the tank 4 into the trough 1 and this valve may be of any conventional construction employing a rotary plug. I do not wish to limit myself to the particular type of valve t-hat may be employed.

A drain valve 10 extends from the bottom of the trough 1 at a point diametrically opposite the inlet valve 9 so that the contents of the trough may be drained whenever desired.

Extending centrally through the water tank 4 is the cylindrical heating chamber or flue 11. 'Ihe ends of this chamber or flue project through the openings formed in the ltop and bottom of the tank or reservoir 4 as clearly indicated in Figure 1 and this flue may be welded or otherwise iixedly secured in the respective openings provided therefor.

An inwardly projecting annular bead 12 is formed in the lower end portion of the cylindrical chamber. or flue 11 for a purpose to be presently described. A slip tight cap 13 is removably fitted over the projecting open upper end of the flue 11 to provide a closure therefor while the closure for the open lower end of this flue 11 comprises a disk 14 having a reinforcing bead 15 extending around the outer edge thereof, said disk being of a diameter slightly greater than that of the depending flange 5. An annular rim 16 eX- tends upwardly from the disk 14 inwardly of the outer edge thereof and this rim has a sliding fit with the inner face of the lower end of the flue 11.

Extending upwardly from the upper edge of the rim 16 at spaced intervals are the spring fingers 17, the upper end portions thereof being formed with transverse bends 18 for cooperation with the annular bead or rib 12 to secure the cap member provided for the lowerend of the flue 11 in a closed positiOn.

An electric heating unit denoted generally by the numeral 19 is secured` on the upper face ofthe central portion of the disk 14 and this heating unit includes an insulated body 20 around which is coiled thev resistance element 21. The conductor wires that connect with the resistance coil extend upwardly through an insulated bushing 22 arranged in an opening provided therefore in the central portion of the disk 14 and attached to the other end of the wires 23 is a plug 24 that is adapted to fit within an appropriate electric socket for applying current to the heating coil 21.

The electric heating unit 19 will provide a means whereby the water in the tank 4 will be prevented fromfreezing in cold weather. In lieu of the electric heating unit 19', there may be employed an oil lamp shown generally at 25 in Figure 3 and this oil lamp is detachably secured on the upper face of a cap member 26 which is substantially identical in construction as the cap member shown in Figure 1 provided for the lower end of the flue 11 with the exception that the disk? of the cap is provided with air holes 27 and spring lingers or clips 28 extend upwardly from the central portion of the cap base to engage with th-e base of the lamp 25.

Also in lieu of the imperforate cap 13 provided for the upper end of the liue 11, a perforated cap 29 is employed when the oil lamp 25 is used for heating the Water in the tank 4.

In Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings, I have shown a further modification of the cap provided for the upper end of the flue 11 and to this end, the modified closure includes a cap 30 having a series of annular spaced openings 31 formed in the top thereof, the rim or flange of the cap being formed with circumferentially extending slots 32 to accommodate the handle portion 33 that extends radially from the outer edge of the disk 34 that is pivotally secured to the bot' tom face of the top of the cap 30 as at 35.

The disk 34 is formed with an annular series of spaced openings 36 that are adapted to register with the openings 31 formed in the top of the cap 30. When the handle 33 is at one end of the slot 32, the openings 36 are in register with the respective openings 31 and manifestly when the handle 33 is disposed at the opposite end of the slot 32, the

openings 36 are entirely out of communica' tion with the respective openings in the cap 30 thus providing either a perforated or 1mperforate closure for the upper end of the flue 11.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description, that I have provided a drinking fountain for poultry wherein the Water will be prevented from freezing during 'cold weather and furthermore the supply of the water from the tank to the trough is auto-'- matically regulated whereby to maintain the supply of Water in the trough at a predetermined level.

As shown in Figure 6, the closures 13 and 14 or 26 and 29 may be removed from the iiue 11 so as to leave the ends ofthe latter open. When this is done, a stack 50 may be applied to the upper end of the flue, whereby circulation of air upwardly through the flue is effected for cooling the water in the tank 4 during warm weather. The cooling eect may be varied by changing the length of the stack. and the latter is preferably of sectional form, as shown, whereby its length may be readily changed.

The simplicity of my construction enables the parts to be readily and easily assembled or disassembled and furthermore the drinking fountain will be strong and durable and at all times positive and efiicientin carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

While I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a drinking fountain, having a trough formed with a central opening 1n the bottom thereof, and a water supply tank arranged within the trough and provided with a valved outlet opening in the lower portion thereof for supplying water to the trough, the bottom of the tank being formed with a central opening, the top of the tank being formed with a central opening, an open-ende flue extending centrally through the water tank and disposed through the openings in the top and bottom of said tank, removable closure caps for` the respective ends of the Hue, and a heat-ing unit for disposition within the Hue secured on the lower cap, the lower closure cap including a disk for engagement against the lower end of the flue, an upstanding rim formed on the upper face of the disk and having a sliding fit with the inner face of the lower end portion of the flue, and coacting means between the rim and the flue for further securing the lower closure cap in position on the lower end of the flue, said last-mentioned means comprising upstanding spring catches carried by the rim, and an inwardly extending rib formed on the Hue with which the catches engage.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature.

HARRY WILLIAM PLEDGER. 

